According to recent statistics by Beijing Customs for H1 2021, the imports and exports of the Beijing area (including central government units in Beijing) reached CNY 1.42 trillion, representing an increase of 26 percent (compared with the same period in 2020, the same below) and setting a new high in the same historical period. Imports increased by CNY 1.13 trillion, representing an increase of 28.2 percent, and exports increased by CNY 293.05 billion, representing an increase of 18.1 percent.

In the first half of 2021, Beijing's monthly imports/exports rose up with an overall situation distinctly better than that of 2020. After exceeding CNY 250 billion in March, Beijing's imports/exports experienced peaks and eased back across April and May, demonstrating a month-on-month decline. The imports/exports reached CNY 266.7 billion in June, setting a new high from December 2019.

Imports/exports with major trading partners have continued to grow. In H1 of 2021, Beijing's imports/exports with its top five trading partners, namely the EU (excluding the UK), USA, ASEAN, Australia, and Japan have continued to grow, accounting for 14.1 percent, 10.1 percent, 10 percent, 6.4 percent, and 4.9 percent of the total respectively. Among them, imports and exports with the USA reached CNY 143.65 billion, representing an increase of 120.9 percent, the highest increase among the five trading partners. Beijing's imports and exports with Central and Eastern European countries reached CNY 25.51 billion, representing an increase of 44.4 percent.

Among them, the import of automobiles and agricultural products increased by over 50 percent. In H1 of 2021, among the top five commodities imported to Beijing, the number of automobiles and agricultural products reached CNY 111.22 billion (an increase of 71.2 percent) and CNY 96.85 billion (an increase of 53.6 percent) respectively. The quantity of imported crude oil reached CNY 404.19 billion, representing an increase of 20.3 percent with an import volume increase of 2.7 percent and an average import price increase of 17.2 percent. The quantity of imported natural gas reached CNY 79.24 billion, representing an increase of 11.1 percent. The quantity of imported iron ore and refined minerals reached CNY 77.98 billion, representing an increase of 36.6 percent.

High-tech products were the primary driver of export growth in Beijing. In H1 of 2021, the amount of exported medical materials and drugs was CNY 37.91 billion, representing an 12.4-fold increase; the amount of exported mobile phones was CNY 43.56 billion, representing an increase of 68.6 percent; and the amount of exported integrated circuits was CNY 8.5 billion, representing an increase of 27.8 percent. The export of bulk commodities from Beijing declined, with the amount of exported refined oil reaching CNY 78.39 billion, representing a drop of 5.6 percent, down 5.8 percent by exported volume and slightly up 0.2 percent in price on average. The amount of exported steel reached CNY 6.98 billion, representing a drop of 0.8 percent. (End)